music
In the News: The Latest on ITVS Programs
“The gutsy television company ITVS, which has embraced alternative distribution models for years, had three documentaries at Sundance this year. I wasn’t able to see Laura Poitras’s The Oath, about a Yemenite family, Al Qaeda, and Guantanamo Bay. My Perestroika offers fascinatingly differing accounts of how several Russian former high school classmates have fared since the collapse of the Soviet Union…”
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“The Bay Area has long been known as a center for documentary filmmaking. … The area is home to the Independent Television Service, a major financer of documentary films, as well as some of the most respected film schools in the country.”
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“Blacking Up is careful to let people speak for themselves, as Clift efficiently segues from scene to scene: a Long Island meeting of the ossifying Al Jolson Society; a trip on a black-owned New York bus tour of hip-hop landmarks, during which white tourists are urged to wear complimentary bling.”
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Priscilla Diaz, the subject of P-Star Rising, discusses the premiere of her film and her new season on PBS’s The Electric Company on WPIX, the flagship station of The CW Television Network.
Watch now >>
John Antonelli Discusses Inspiration Behind Sam Cooke
The ITVS film Sam Cooke: Crossing Over recently premiered on American Masters on PBS. The film looks at the musical and political significance of composer, performer, and pioneering pop music entrepreneur Sam Cooke and the circumstances that led to his murder. Beyond the Box recently caught up with producer John Antonelli to discuss his interest in the topic, why he approached ITVS for funding, and what he hopes viewers took away from the film.
Executive Producer Avon Kirkland, Narrator Danny Glover, and Producer John Antonelli.
How did you first get involved with filmmaking? Are there any specific topics that interest you?
My production company came out of the experience of making my Jack Kerouac documentary in the early 80s. My partner Will Parrinello and I have been working together since then making a variety of films that focus on the environment, culture, and politics. The Sam Cooke program goes full circle back to producing a full-length documentary about a cultural icon.
What made you interested in Sam Cooke?
I’ve always loved Sam Cooke’s music since I discovered it as a teenager back in the early sixties. When I read Daniel Wolff’s biography You Send Me, I was quickly convinced that I should try and make a film about him. Wolff was supportive but wasn’t interested in forming a partnership. At that point, I decided that I would make the film for PBS directly. We managed to reach many of Cooke’s closest friends and relatives to do interviews for the film.
Why did you approach ITVS for funding?
I’ve always wanted to do a project with ITVS and have applied there with various films. I knew when I decided to do this project for PBS that I had two strong options for funding and distribution –– ITVS and American Masters. If ITVS were an individual, you could say that I was their stalker. I started applying to ITVS back in 1998 when I started making the film. I applied and got rejected, and as I had on previous projects, signed up for their feedback session. Although I didn’t like hearing the reasons from different anonymous panel members why they didn’t like the project, I also heard some encouragement sprinkled in with the criticisms. I then set out to improve the proposal and sample tape. Little did I know that this process of applying and getting feedback would take another nine years before it would get funded. The feedback–– almost as much as the financing –– is a big reason why I was able to complete the film. The feedback always gave me specific ways that I could make the project stronger. As far as I know, ITVS is the only entity in the documentary world that gives this kind of feedback –– it is something that every filmmaker should take advantage of.
ITVS Celebrates Black History Month
Nine-year-old Pricilla from P-Star Rising, airing Feb. 9 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS.
Mine, premiering Feb. 16 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS.
ITVS and PBS offers viewers the opportunity to explore the rich and vibrant history and cultural contributions of African Americans throughout the year, but this month offers a special slate of new and encore programs in honor of Black History Month.
Independent Lens brings race to the forefront with four new films in February. Herskovits at the Heart of Blackness, debuting Feb. 2, explores the often-overlooked legacy of Jewish anthropologist Melville Herskovits, whose ideas in the 40s and 50s challenged the accepted assumptions about race and culture. Then, tune in on Feb. 9 for P-Star Rising, which looks at nine-year-old Pricilla who wants to be the youngest female rap star ever and her single father who is determined to help her make it big. This film also closes out the special line-up of compelling films as part of Independent Lens’s Music Month.
A third film, Mine, premiering Feb. 16, tells the poignant and powerful story of animals left behind during Katrina, and of the struggles of hurricane victims to reunite with their beloved pets. Finally, Behind the Rainbow, airing Feb. 23, unearths once-hidden realities of South Africa’s political obstacles on the path to democracy.
Other ITVS films airing this month on PBS include: February One: The Story of the Greensboro Four, which looks at the pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement when four college students staged a sit-in at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1960, and Scarred Justice: The Orangeburg Massacre 1968, which investigates the continued cover-up of the tragedy of 1968 on the campus of South Carolina State University and follows ongoing efforts to seek justice.
Get local broadcast information >>
Thousands of hours of PBS programming are available on the PBS Video Portal, including a special collection for Black History Month.
Watch these video clips of upcoming new Independent Lens programs (check local listings):
Herskovits at the Heart of Blackness, Feb. 2 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS
Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats &Rhymes Premiering Tonight on Independent Lens on PBS
“… a broad and eye-opening portrait of hip-hop masculinity.”
- The Washington Post
Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes takes an in-depth look at machismo in rap music and hip-hop culture — where creative genius, poetic beauty, and mad beats collide with misogyny, violence, and homophobia.
Get broadcast listings and discover other films featured now during Independent Lens’s Music Month. Learn more >>
Hip-Hop premieres tonight, January 26, at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings).
Recent Talkback About Independent Lens
From Stephen Walker’s critical and box office smash Young@Heart to an in-depth look behind the creative and commercial value of musical sampling, this season Independent Lens is rolling out a powerful selection of films that cover a wide range of issues related to the music industry. Check out some of the recent Talkback from viewers about films airing this month.
Young@Heart
“I watched the documentary, Young@Heart, last week and was quite moved. The director has given a great gift to the people of North Hampton and around the world.”
Posted by: Roger Millnitz on January 17, 2010
“I am 51 and hope I have the vitality that these individuals do when I get up there in years. The one song that gets me every time is Fred’s tribute to Bob, ‘Fix You.’ It moves me every time.”
Posted by: Gail on January 17, 2010
“I am in my 70s and I loved this film. The segment where the group did a concert for the jail inmates young enough to be their grandchildren was just so touching to me that it brought tears to my eyes…”
Posted by: Christina on January 18, 2010
View more Talkback and submit your own for Young@Heart >>
Interested in music programs? Learn more about our month-long celebration of music >>
Copyright Criminals Premiering Tonight on Independent Lens on PBS
“What’s the difference between creative ‘borrowing’ and outright theft? The Independent Lens documentary Copyright Criminals offers a thought-provoking discussion of the subject filtered through a history of hip-hop ‘sampling’ culture.”
- United Features Syndicate
Can you own a sound? As hip-hop rose from the streets of New York to become a multibillion-dollar industry, artists such as Public Enemy and De La Soul began reusing parts of previously recorded music for their songs. But when record company lawyers got involved everything changed. Years before people started downloading and remixing music, hip-hop sampling sparked a debate about copyright, creativity and technological change that still rages today.
Copyright Criminals premieres tonight, January 19, at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings).
Learn more about Copyright Criminals and other special Music Month programs >>
In the News: The Latest on ITVS Programs
Chicago Public Radio gives an in-depth look at the upcoming Independent Lens broadcast of Garbage Dreams, which also screened at the Chicago Cultural Center as part of Community Cinema. For decades, a group of people known as the “Zabaleen”, Arabic for “garbage people”, have been Cairo’s unofficial trash collectors, sorters and recyclers. They survive by recycling some eighty percent of the trash they collect. Compared to American cities, which recycle roughly thirty two percent of their waste, that’s no small feat.
Listen now >>
“Even for someone who cares about the environment, [Jamie Lee] Curtis says Dirt! [The Movie] was an education. ‘I was as astonished as you will be when you see the film, about the earth being alive.’”
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“Sam Cooke: Crossing Over on American Masters: The PBS series takes a respectful look at the life and death of the silky smooth singer, first in gospel and then in pop.”
Read full review >>
“One from the heart, the documentary Mine relates yet one more wrenching, infuriating story about Hurricane Katrina and the devastation wreaked both by the storm and by human error and indifference.”
Read full review >>
“What’s the difference between creative ‘borrowing’ and outright theft? The Independent Lens documentary Copyright Criminals offers a thought-provoking discussion of the subject filtered through a history of hip-hop ‘sampling’ culture.”
Read more >>
Video Interview with Bob Cilman and Steve Martin of Young@Heart
Bob Cilman, the director of the Young@Heart Chorus, and Steve Martin, a chorus member, stopped by the ITVS offices yesterday — on the day of the television premiere of Young@Heart on Independent Lens on PBS.
In the video below, they talk about what it was like to participate in screenings across the country as part Community Cinema and what they hope people will take away from the television broadcast.
This month, Community Cinema is presenting Garbage Dreams, which follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world’s largest garbage village, a ghetto located on the outskirts of Cairo.
Learn more and find screenings near you >>
Even if you’re not a senior citizen yourself, chances are you’ve crossed paths with an older person who shattered all of your assumptions about what it is to be “old.” Share your inspirational stories of aging. Upload video, photographs, and text. Share your story >>
Young@Heart Premiering Tonight on Independent Lens on PBS
“[Young@Heart] offers an encouraging vision of old age in which the depression commonly associated with decrepitude is held at bay by music making, camaraderie and a sense of humor.”
- The New York Times
We’re kicking off a month dedicated to music on Independent Lens –– four films in four weeks about the power of music to shape and enhance our lives. Tune in tonight to rock with the most entertaining golden oldies you will ever meet in the senior citizen’s chorus Young@Heart. With a show only weeks away, they must learn a slate of new songs ranging from James Brown to Coldplay. The chorus’s director leads them through tough rehearsals, proving that rock and roll can be hard work — especially if you’re hard of hearing! Climaxing in a triumphant performance, their inspiring story celebrates the unbreakable bonds of friendship and the life-affirming power of music.
Young@Heart premieres tonight, January 12, at 9:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings).
Sam Cooke: Crossing Over: Tonight on American Masters on PBS
“What to Watch Monday: American Masters opens with a profile of the soul titan Sam Cooke. A highlight: Lou Rawls explaining how touring gospel singers (like Mr. Cooke, early in his career) ‘got over good’ — even better than R&B and jazz musicians — because of their wholesome reputations.”
- The New York Times
In 1958, when Sam Cooke crossed over from gospel to “the devil’s music,” he set in motion a chain of events that altered the course of popular music and race relations in America. Sam Cooke: Crossing Over examines Cooke’s musical and political significance during the early civil rights movement and unravels some of the myths surrounding his life and death, revealing a complex portrait of a flawed but talented man.
Sam Cooke: Crossing Over premieres tonight, January 11 at 9:00 PM on American Masters on PBS (check local listings).
A co-production of ITVS in association with the National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC).
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